Did we make a mistake?

My husband and I cruised on the Getaway several years ago..had a blast. We are now booked on a western caribbean Feb. 2nd on the Epic.Basically chose this because of the date and ports. I really wanted to hit Grand Cayman. Now I am reading may reviews from folks that do not care much for the Epic...hard to get around, not as many places to see the ocean. I can still change our choice if we want...we are in our 50's, hubby likes the "play stuff", I can live without some of it. Any suggestions?????

The Epic provokes diverse opinions. Some people hate it, some love it, most think it is somewhere in the middle.

You certainly read a lot of negative opinions on here, but I also know more people who’s favourite ship it is than any other. Most people who sail on it don’t come here to tell everyone.

There is only one way you will find out what you think of it.

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What is your stateroom type?

For every person who hates it, there’s another who loves it. We’ve cruised twice on both the Epic and Getaway. We loved all four cruises.

What is your stateroom type?

Mini-suite balcony

I’ve watched YouTube video of the Epic...I think I would enjoy it just fine...

I didn't see anything wrong with Epic.... I actually can't wait to sail on it again

The EPIC is so bad, that even NCL themselves never built any more of that class (known as the F3).

NCL had originally ordered 2 of those ships with an option for a third one. The 2nd ship was NEVER built and the 3rd option was NEVER exercised.

That speaks volumes of how bad the EPIC turned out to be.

Was on Epic April 2017 on Transatlantic. Booked on her again for Nov 2018 and April 2019 - both Transatlantics. We must have enjoyed it!

FYI - normal balcony cabin with split bathroom setup. Worked fine for us.

The EPIC is so bad, that even NCL themselves never built any more of that class (known as the F3).

NCL had originally ordered 2 of those ships with an option for a third one. The 2nd ship was NEVER built and the 3rd option was NEVER exercised.

That speaks volumes of how bad the EPIC turned out to be.

What makes the Epic so bad? We sail it in November and the layout and videos we've seen look fine. The only downside we see is that, just like the Escape, the Casino seems to be right off of the atrium so the cigarette smoke (odor, not necessarily the smoke itself) likely permeates the central part of the ship, just like the Escape.

Cruise ships mostly get positive reviews with the occasional negative review.

With the Epic, the reverse is true, it gets for the most part negative reviews.

Cruise ships mostly get positive reviews with the occasional negative review.

With the Epic, the reverse is true, it gets for the most part negative reviews.

Interesting. I noticed that of the Cruise Critic ship reviews, the Epic ranks as the best of the line's 17 ships with and average of 4.5 stars.

Mini-suite balcony

If the bathroom situation doesn't bother you, everything else will be fine.

Epic is ....different but not "bad".

Cruise ships mostly get positive reviews with the occasional negative review.

With the Epic, the reverse is true, it gets for the most part negative reviews.

I know it's tempting to just make stuff up, but if you are going to then it's probably best not to do so when it is so easy to check the facts.

The last 100 Epic reviews on Cruise Critic have 58% rating it 4 or 5 stars. 18% rate it 1 or 2 stars. If you take the overall statistics (3304 reviews) the proportions are about the same. The most common rating overall is 5 stars, followed by 4 then 3, 2 and 1 at the bottom. 80% of reviews rated the Epic average or better.

Your statement is correct if we assume that a 4 star review (very good) is negative.

Opinions are fine, but making things up helps nobody.

We sailed on the Epic in her inaugural first couple months. Maybe it was bc she was NCL's first big ship and they hadn't worked out all the kinks or maybe bc of the design, we didn't care for it. It is very different from the Getaway which is my favorite _ easy to get around. Officers have told us they've worked hard to fix things most people disliked and for some reason it's a favorite in Europe.

I will only say that when you read a review from just one person with perhaps an ax/axe to grind with NCL, then you can take that review with a grain/pinch of salt.

But when you have hundreds of negative reviews, for the most part, all highlighting the very same shortcomings of the white elephant that the Epic is, well, they do lend a level of legitimacy to the horrible reputation that this vessel has.

Like I said earlier, this build was such a fiasco for NCL that out of a possible order for 3, NCL only built one!

I leave it at that.

I was on the Epic last month, but in a studio, which is inside. On the one sea day, and the one partial sea day, I went up to the Great Outdoors to see the water. I can't imagine why the relative lack of public outdoor spaces should worry you, especially if you have a balcony cabin.

Like NCL's other large ships, the Epic has many choices of activities and entertainment. It also has a bridge viewing room, unlike the Bliss, Breakaway, and Getaway. I noticed crowding only at two times: disembarking in certain ports, where there was a line (especially at Palma, where docking is at midday), and around the elevators when shows were ending. I am sensitive to cigarette smoke but never noticed it near, or even in, the casino.

I will only say that when you read a review from just one person with perhaps an ax/axe to grind with NCL, then you can take that review with a grain/pinch of salt.

But when you have hundreds of negative reviews, for the most part, all highlighting the very same shortcomings of the white elephant that the Epic is, well, they do lend a level of legitimacy to the horrible reputation that this vessel has.

Like I said earlier, this build was such a fiasco for NCL that out of a possible order for 3, NCL only built one!

I leave it at that.

I have read that was more of a disagreement with the shipyard than anything, future orders were cancelled before ship was even delivered, I believe...anyone have the real skinny?

I've been on both ships and much prefer Epic. The Getaway has a better water park and waterfront boardwalk. I sailed Haven in both ships so my perspective may be different. The Epic has a functional but different bathroom layout in the balcony cabins.

I just thought everything was bigger and better on Epic. Getaway was nice but everything was smaller or crammed. I believe Epic still has the largest spa and gym at sea.

Epic was ahead of its time IMHO.

Having said all that, both ships are actually very similar. I was really surprised how similar Getaway was to Epic. I thought all the flack Epic got that NCL was going to do something radically different. Getaway is Epic without the curved cabins, separate sink toilet areas, smaller venues, and an added waterfront boardwalk around the ship.

Epic has a better Haven, garden café buffet (forward facing), gym, spa, nightclub, theater, and more spacious restaurants.

I have read that was more of a disagreement with the shipyard than anything, future orders were cancelled before ship was even delivered, I believe...anyone have the real skinny?

I don’t have the detail either, but my understanding is that there were indeed issues with the shipyard.

Also, I believe that the management changes at NCL May have been involved as I think the Epic was ordered by the pre Sheehan management team. There may have been an element of consolidation, as there was a gap of a few years before the Breakaway.

My personal opinion is that the new management learned from some of the lessons from the Epic to come up with the Breakaway designs, which I believe is an improvement on the Epic.

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Epic was our first cruise. Anywhere. Ever. Changed us from “why would anyone want to go on a cruise” to “O. M. G. When is our next cruise!”

We really liked the ship. The slides, the rock climbing, the food (and we are foodies) the bars (Maltings, Martini Bar, O’Sheehans), the service, the gym (we actually went 3 times). MDR’s were good. We had a few outstanding items. Beef short ribs, for one

Negatives, the bathrooms were a little strange, but since I was traveling with my spouse of 30 something years, no issues. Disembarkation was a zoo, but I think I blame Orlando.

We went on 3 cruses within the year and have 2 more scheduled.

Not on the Epic again. Yet. we book for destinations, but that could change!

Lurking on CC, you can see vacations are VERY subjective. Try it, I don’t think you will hate it

No mistake. We have sailed on the Epic 7 times and would sail on her again.

My personal opinion is that the new management learned from some of the lessons from the Epic to come up with the Breakaway designs, which I believe is an improvement on the Epic.

This is probably the best description I've seen in the discussion so far, and one I've used myself.

The Epic ended up as a prototype for the Breakaway-class. They probably kept 70% of the changes from a 'normal' cruise ship and figured out how to make some of the others work.

The moment I walked onto Escape, a year after the Epic, I immediately thought "Hmmm. A lot of this seems very familiar." Within a day or two, it changed to "Hey, this doesn't bother me as much as it did on the Epic."

I had a bad cruise on the Epic, and if my friends didn't talk me into trying the Escape (which I LOVED), I may not have come back to NCL.

But my cruise was ruined by a very antagonistic crew experience. Just universally bad customer service at every encounter. If the bartenders could have spit in my face for ordering a rum and coke, they probably would have. Instead, they had a conversation for 10 minutes before making me a drink. It didn't really matter which bar I tried. They didn't want me there. They didn't like the stranger next to me, either.

The pinnacle of the trip was going to GSC and having tender ticket #3, so we went to the theatre when the intercom said tenders were ready. Then we sat in a crowded theatre for 82 minutes while a bitch screamed, "No Tender! You sit down! You shut up!" I am not kidding.

I walked off that ship very angry.

From reading the CC trip reports: My cruise week was a bad one. The cruise after ours was also bad for the same reasons. The cruise after that seemed completely fine.

If the Epic was sitting next to a more recent megaship and everything else was equal (price, itinerary, cabin), I wouldn't choose the Epic. But I also wouldn't avoid booking it.

For us, the main shortcoming of the Epic is the curved walls in the staterooms, and the odd shaped bed that I'm an inch or two too tall to fit on. If you carefully select your cabin (zoom in on the deckplans, and you'll see the curves -- you want a cabin with the curve on the OUTSIDE,) and you aren't too tall, there's a lot to like about the Epic. We're going on it again this November (transatlantic crossing.)

If the bathroom situation doesn't bother you, everything else will be fine.

Epic is ....different but not "bad".

I think this is the important point. While the Epic is our least favorite NCL ship, we would sail her again in a minute if the price and itinerary were to our liking. Even with the weird bathroom set up.

It has a LOT going for it, with really good entertainment. With a balcony cabin you'll have no trouble seeing the ocean, and the cabins, while small and with that weird bathroom set up, are very comfy. The "Howling at the Moon" dueling pianos event plays several nights during the cruise and is a lot of fun, with the audience singing along. The Blue Man Group was on board when we sailed; I think it's Priscilla of the Desert now, and I've heard that show is really entertaining too.